Since I haven't been here as long as you or any of the original members, what makes this forum so much better back then? After being here for five year, I actually enjoy it more now since we have Synth19 contribute excellent photography. We also have Stuntman a.k.a. Billy Johnson contribute with his racing insights, we have Angus who is now making low cost alternative to people who want to turbo their NSX, and we have Ross who is offering superb chassis bracing.
In fact I see the envelope being pushed further with this vehicle now than it ever was in the old day. The new members are not afraid to try new things while the older more convervative crowd is just that. Conservative. Please explain to me how his forum has gone down south again because what you and many older members are claiming puzzles me.
I think that is an excellent question and I appreciate your asking for dialogue. I can't speak for others, but I'll be pleased to provide my personal insight. First, I think we can all agree the demography has changed drastically. The early owners purchased a NSX for $80,000 to perhaps $100,000. (The first NSX was sold at Gold Coast Acura in Oxnard, California. There were two guys with their check books, and the car went for $120,000 according to the people at Gold Coast.) Now we see threads asking how to finance a $20,000 NSX. I don't mean to imply that's a bad thing. It's just a different thing. I've been a member since 2003, but I owned a NSX when I lived in Europe and didn't know about NSX Prime at that time. So, I've owned a NA1 and now have a NA2.
Steve (steveny) called me today and we spoke for about an hour. We talk to one another three or four times a week. Hal (queenlives) called me yesterday because I donated some bees in his name to a charity (heiferinternational.org). Hal and I have been having lunch together for quite a while now. Same with Ken (Chopsjazz). Ken has over 10,000 posts and has contributed an incredible amount of information and knowledge to this site, but now spends little time here.
I can't tell you how many members of Prime have been to my house. During my illness, my phone rang off the hook with members asking me what I needed or what they could do for me. I've receive countless PM's from Prime members saying they were going to be in San Francisco and asking to get together for a drink or dinner. When I lived in North Carolina and before moving back to San Francisco, D'Ecosse used to call me while commuting in the Bay Area, and we had a great relationship because he was Scottish and my then wife was Scottish as well. He contributed invaluable information regarding sound systems. Because I now live in San Francisco again, my car is parked six floors below ground and I can't work on it in the garage. I've had members come to my house, exchange cars and take my car to their house to install my NSX-S suspension, paint my brake callipers, etc. for me. When I offer payments, they really become insulted. I just give them a bottle of wine or bought them lunch and all is OK.
Is this starting to paint a picture? NSX Prime was much more than a car site. It was an extremely tight community of friends. We really knew one another and liked one another. I think we had serious concerns about things like "street racing." We took our cars to the track.
Steve and I were talking about the birth of their second child this evening. It was not only a part of a community, but a real connection. It was more than a "car community." We knew one another and we cared about one another.
Now go back and read the thread. See any disparaging remarks about me as a person? See anything about me as being "holier than tho?" when I didn't mention any one? See a snide remark about the age of women I date? See when those members became members (2009, 2008 and 2010) Read the one that says this is a car thread and grammar doesn't matter? To me, that's like a lack of pride. Why doesen't it matter. Isn't this a different type of car site? Oh, now there is a new one...
See how members like it when someone "stirs the pot" but take exception when I "stir the pot" about grammar? And quite honestly, there weren't grammar lapses in the past. And, I couldn't help but point out how a person that has a master's degree couldn't spell it.
There wasn't hostility in the past. There wasn't the vitriolic posts in the past. In the past, this was FAR beyond a car forum. It was cars, friends, family, concerns, thoughts, etc. and that's what made it special. Look at the "off topic" number of threads versus the others.
Thank you for asking the question, and I hope it answers it from my prospective.
